Unbeaten Wisconsin won't be inconspicuous for long

Sporting News, The, Oct 12, 1998 by Tom Dienhart, Mike Huguenin

Barry Alvarez won't admit it, but this is the best team he has had in nine seasons at Wisconsin. Even better than the 1993 unit that won the Rose Bowl. But don't let him hear you say that.

"I don't want to get into mat at this point," he says. "We have a lot of competition in front of us in the league. Our kids have done a lot of good things. We've battled through a lot of injuries and had a lot of kids step up, which has helped us with depth. We are getting plays out of all three areas-offense, defense and special teams. I'm not ready to say this is my best team. The jury is still out."

We all know about the top 10 teams that are unbeaten: Ohio State, Nebraska, Kansas State, UCLA, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia. But it is the anonymous unbeaten neighborhood where Wisconsin resides with Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, Virginia Tech, Tulane, Arkansas, Marshall and Texas Tech. And the Badgers are the best of the lot, the school most likely to crash the Fiesta Bowl party January 4.

The usually boisterous Wisconsin contingent--the ones wearing red-and-white vertically stripped overalls--has been silent thus far in Mad City. Perhaps Wisconsin natives have been too busy wringing their hands over the injury to Packers tailback Dorsey Levens to get upset about Ron Dayne not being trumpeted for the Heisman. He hasn't deserved such hype, having been nagged by injuries.

But Dayne isn't the only one working in the shadows. The entire Badgers squad failed to impress in non-conference victories over San Diego State, Ohio and UNLV. Things have improved in Big Ten play, as Wisconsin has trashed Northwestern and come back to beat Indiana. Still, the Badgers have remained background noise. But like Aaron Gibson, their 6-7, 370-pound offensive tackle, trying to hide behind a telephone pole, the Badgers won't be inconspicuous for long. Here's why:

* The schedule. It had to be made by a cheese-head, as the Badgers don't play No. 1 Ohio State. Look for Wisconsin to be 9-0 as it closes the season with games at Michigan and at home against Penn State. In last Saturday's 24-20 win at Indiana, Wisconsin showed resiliency by coming back against a dangerous offensive team.

"With our young secondary, I worry about teams that spread you out and make you go one-on-one," Alvarez says. "We don't like to play that type of team. The kids we can recruit up here are big kids who like to play good old-fashioned, knock-it-around football."

Alvarez now can fret about his freshman starting cornerbacks trying to stop Purdue on Saturday. Aside from Ohio State, the Boilermakers are the scariest offensive team in the Big Ten. Last year, the Boilermakers beat the Badgers, 45-20, as Purdue threw for 355 yards.

"I think these young guys in the secondary are going to be better than the ones we played with last year," Alvarez says. I think they will be good players."

* The defense. Don't tell Alvarez his team lacks speed, especially on defense. This isn't the same team that was embarrassed, 33-6, by Georgia in the Outback Bowl last season. The key to the unit has been the line, which is led by ends Tom Burke and John Favret, one of the nation's top tandems. The unit's ability to get pressure on the passer has lessened the burden on a young secondary.

"Let me tell you something," Alvarez says, "there is a difference between speed and talent. ... We had some speed last year; they just weren't very good football players. They weren't very good cover guys. Georgia was a good team. They had some fast guys. They were as fast the year before, and they won five games. That was a veteran team with a lot of playmakers that really jelled. It wasn't just because of speed."

The Badgers, whose defense ranks fifth in the nation (it is allowing 225.8 yards per game), showed their stuff in stuffing an Indiana offense that entered the game ranked eighth in the nation with a 500-yard average. They held the Hoosiers to 291 yards and one offensive touchdown.

* Mike Samuel. That's right, everybody's favorite quarterback to bash. As a first-year starter in 1996, he won eight games. He repeated that total last season, when he was working behind a line with three freshman starters.

"Everyone was saying, `Well, you've got two good receivers (Donald Hayes and Tony Simmons). Why isn't he getting them the ball?' "Alvarez says. "Well, he didn't have much time to get them the ball."

Now, Samuel operates behind a fortified wall. Still, defenses put eight men in the box to stop Dayne. But Wisconsin has countered with the option. The Badgers tinkered with it in recent seasons, but never made a full commitment to it. Alvarez admits he should have had Samuel running it more. The option puts pressure on those pressman defenses that stack defenders along the line. It also allows Samuel to strike with play-action passes. But Samuel's passing remains shaky and the offense lacks big-play ability.

* Special teams. Alvarez has a great kicker in Matt Davenport, who has proved capable of hitting the clutch kick. And Wisconsin has found a playmaker in true freshman Nick Davis. The Badgers needed to upgrade their speed on returns, and Davis has an extra gear.